Forgotten Memories
by Chuchu
Summary: To Piper's surprise, Dan comes back to San Francisco. Now that Piper can't remember Leo, will she and Dan end up together? Plus, Phoebe realizes that Chris isn't exactly who he says he is. Please read the Author's Notes in the beginning.
1. Teaser

**_DISCLAIMER: I have no contact with the cast or crew of "Charmed". This fictional story is of my own making. _**

**_AUTHOR'S NOTES: This is the third "episode" of my fictional sixth season. I've written it so you can basically understand what is happening without reading my past two stories, but if you want to go into a deeper detail of this "season", I suggest you read "The Other Sister" first, then "A Charmed Wedding?" second. If you have any questions about any of my stories, PLEASE EMAIL ME AND ASK. That way, I will be able to reply individually and answer your questions. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy!_**

_BTW: For any of you readers wondering about the whole Piper forgetting Leo deal, but still having Wyatt, here's your answer: Whenever Piper thinks of Leo, she instantly forgets a minute later. For example, when Paige and Phoebe tried to remind Piper of Leo, they asked her who Wyatt's father was ("A Charmed Wedding?"). She could not remember, and after her sisters told her about Leo, she forgot about him a moment later. Please read "A Charmed Wedding?" and "The Other Sister" if you want any further details. And remember, do not post your questions in my reviews. Please just email me. Thank you._

**TEASER**

"Good morning, everyone!" Piper chirped, as she entered the kitchen where Paige and Phoebe sat in their bathrobes, drinking coffee.

Phoebe looked up at Piper, as if she was crazy. "Are you alright?" she asked.

"Couldn't be better!" Piper sat down and grabbed the newspaper away from Paige.

"Hey!" Paige exclaimed. "I was reading that!" She grabbed the paper back.

"No," Piper replied, snatching the newspaper again. "You were looking for sales."

"So? I have money, and I need new shoes."

"You have very little money. Besides, the money you have needs to go to groceries and payments… not new shoes."

Paige leaned back in her chair and pouted. "The sooner I get a job, the better."

Phoebe grinned at Paige and turned back to Piper. "So why are you so happy today?"

"I don't know. I just had a good feeling in my stomach this morning. My woman's intuition is telling me that nothing bad will happen today. No demons will attack, no dates, who secretly want to kill me and my sisters, will ask me to marry them, and, best of all, everyone will be at my club tonight to see The Bungees play."

"Uh, Piper?" Paige started. "I think you got your priorities mixed up a little."

Phoebe laughed. "Plus, Piper, you know whenever we think nothing bad is going to happen, something always does."

"It's like saying 'Nothing bad is going to happen' actually makes something bad happen," Paige added.

"So, really, Piper, you have just jinxed us."

"And I really want to thank you for that, Piper."

"Can you guys be any more negative?" Piper asked, laughing.

"We're not being negative," Phoebe answered. "Just… sensible."

"Well, your 'sensibility' is gonna make you all end up old, bald ladies who only live with your cat, Mr. Twinkie."

"Hey!" Paige exclaimed. "I'm not gonna be bald!"

Before Piper could respond, the doorbell suddenly rang.

Paige stood up. "I'll answer it." She turned to Piper and pointed a finger at her. "This is not over yet."

Piper just smiled and turned back to her newspaper.

Paige headed towards the front door and opened it. Outside, stood a, there was no other word for it, _hunk_. He was tall with golden-brownish hair that went down to his neck and hazel eyes. Some locks of hair framed his tanned face.

Paige stood, fascinated. Who was this gorgeous hunk of a man and how soon could she get his number?

"Um, hello," the man said. "Is, uh, Piper Halliwell here?"

"Uh, yeah. Let me get her. Piper!" Paige called.

"What?" Piper yelled from the kitchen.

"There's someone here for you." Paige turned back to the man and realized that she was still wearing her fuzzy blue robe. She wished she had put on something a little sexier this morning. Trying to look a little less conspicuous, she leaned a little behind the open door. "So, uh, how do you know Piper?" she asked, wanting to make conversation.

Before he could answer, Piper came out into the hall, with Phoebe in close pursuit. "Who is it?" Piper asked, then stopped, suddenly, as she saw for herself who stood at the door. Piper couldn't believe her eyes.

The man smiled at her. "Hello, Piper."

Piper stared at him, shocked, for a moment, before replying, "Hey, Dan."

**END OF TEASER**


	2. Act I

**ACT I**

Piper stared at Dan's figure in the doorway, still trying to comprehend what she was seeing. But something wasn't right. There was something about him being there that bothered her… it was as if he wasn't all there, like she was forgetting something about him that she should know. What annoyed her was that she couldn't think of what that something was.

Phoebe poked her head out from behind Piper. "Uh, hey, Dan," she greeted, a bit nervously.

Dan smiled at her. "Hey, Phoebe. How've you been?"

"Uh, I've been pretty okay…well, uh, not like _bad _okay, I mean, everything's been going pretty good… and not really great the-hills-are-alive-with-the-sound-of-music okay either… just okay okay." Phoebe knew she was babbling, but she also couldn't understand why Dan was here why he was here _now_, especially now with everything being so topsy-turvy.

Paige looked from her sisters to Dan, confused. "You know Phoebe?" she asked him. She turned back to her sisters. "How do you know him?" she asked Piper and Phoebe.

"Well, uh, it's kind of a long, complicated story," Piper said.

"He's her ex-boyfriend," Phoebe answered. Piper glared at her. "What?" Phoebe asked. "It wasn't that long of a story."

"Obviously," Piper remarked, sarcastically. She turned back to Dan and smiled, agitated. "How have you been?" she asked him.

"Pretty good. I'm just here in San Francisco on some business so I just decided to drop by and say hey to all of you guys. Where's Prue?"

There was an uncomfortable silence. Paige looked down at her feet as Piper tried to search for words to answer his question, but couldn't find them.

Dan looked to each of the sisters' faces, noticing their forlorn expressions. "What is it?" he asked. "What's wrong?"

Phoebe hesitated before finally answering, "Prue died, a few years back."

The look on Dan's face was one of genuine sorrow and pain. "Oh, God. I'm so sorry. I-I didn't know."

Phoebe smiled sadly at him. "That's okay, Dan. We totally understand. I mean, how could you have known? Don't worry about it." Piper still didn't say anything.

"I know, but, still," he looked at Piper who still couldn't look back at him, for fear that she would start crying, "I wish I could've been there for you." He looked at Phoebe. "For all of you. It must have been so hard."

Phoebe nodded. "It was. It still is. But it's better now. We're better now. Prue's at peace now… and we're doing our best to honor her memory. And we have Paige now who-"

"Paige?" Dan interrupted, confused. Paige waved at him from her little corner.

"Hi. That's me," she said.

"Uh, nice to meet you." Dan shook her hands, but he was still obviously puzzled. "Um, and who are-?"

"She's our half-sister," Piper interrupted.

Dan's face was one of surprise, but he quickly tried to hide it as he said, "Half-sister? Well, we do have a lot to catch up on, don't we?"

Phoebe grinned wryly at that comment. "You're not kidding."

"Um, do you want to come in?" Piper asked. "I can put some coffee on."

Dan smiled, but shook his head. "I would love to, but I can't. I'm meeting with some people later this afternoon. I just dropped in to say hello."

"Oh," Piper responded, not sure whether she was disappointed or relieved.

"But I was thinking maybe we could all go out tonight- you, me, Phoebe," he turned to Paige, "and you, too, of course."

Paige grinned at him. "Of course."

Dan turned back to Piper and Phoebe. "So what do you guys say?"

_Dinner with Dan?_ Phoebe thought to herself. She wasn't sure if that was a good idea. This was just the worst time to have Dan back in town. The subject of Leo was sure to come up, and with Piper not remembering him… that could bring up a whole lot of questions that no one would be able to answer.

"By the way," Dan smiled, but it was an obviously forced one. "Where's Leo? Maybe he would like to… come."

Paige and Phoebe stiffened. _Uh-oh,_ Paige said to herself.

Piper looked at Dan with a baffled expression. "Who's-"

"-ready for breakfast!" Phoebe interrupted Piper, trying to cover up the question she was about to ask. Phoebe started talking quickly, so as not to be interrupted. "I know we are, right, Paige?"

Paige caught on, quickly. "Oh, yeah! I'm starving."

"Dan," Phoebe said, as she headed over to him, "we know you got to go to that meeting or whatever so we won't keep you any more, okay? Bye!" Phoebe practically started shoving Dan out of the door.

"Okay, but what about dinner tonight?" he asked just as Phoebe nudged him out the door.

"Sure, yeah, 7:00, P3, okay? See you then! Bye!" She shut the door on his face, and sighed as she leaned against it. She looked over at Paige. "That was close."

"Uh, yeah," Paige replied.

Piper stared at her sisters. "What is up with you guys? You have been acting really strangely for a while now."

Phoebe shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant. "What do you mean? There's nothing wrong. We just didn't want him to miss his meeting."

Piper stared at her while, and then looked towards Paige. Paige nodded vehemently as to agree with what Phoebe had just said. Piper shook her head and started heading towards the stairs.

Phoebe and Paige looked at each other and both breathed a sigh of relief, simultaneously.

* * *

"You once said that Piper broke up with Dan because of Leo, right?" Paige asked.

Paige and Phoebe sat in the kitchen. Phoebe was filling in Paige more things from Dan and Piper's history.

"Yeah." Phoebe nodded. "She finally realized that, although she did love Dan, she loved Leo more."

"Well, did Dan take the news hard?"

"Well, actually, he took the news pretty well, considering the fact that he had suspected that Leo and Piper still had something going on while Piper and Dan were together."

"Did they?" Paige asked.

"Well, deep down, Piper knew that she still had feelings for Leo, but because of the whole witch/whitelighter thing, Piper didn't think the relationship could work out."

"She wasn't wrong," Paige remarked, sarcastically.

Phoebe didn't register that last comment as she stared into her coffee mug. "I probably shouldn't have agreed to dinner tonight with him at P3."

"Are you worried?" Paige asked.

"Well, yeah," Phoebe answered. "I mean, the subject of Leo will eventually come up, one way or another. I just can't keep interrupting and changing the subject. Piper and Dan will know that something's up, even though Piper will probably forget it later." Phoebe sighed, worriedly. "I don't know what to do."

Paige sighed, also. "Me neither." They both sat quietly looking down at the table for a while before Paige suddenly remarked, "I wonder if Piper and Dan will get back together."

Phoebe looked up quickly. "What?"

"Well, think about it. Piper broke up with him because of Leo, and, well, Leo's not around anymore. Not only that, Piper doesn't even remember that Leo was around. So what's to stop Dan and Piper from getting back together?"

"Well... he might be over her by now. He could even be married."

"Did you see a ring on his finger?" asked Paige.

"No, but-"

"Besides, I saw the way he looked at her today, and so did you. We both know that he's not over her."

Phoebe put her hands up to her face and groaned. "Oh, you're right, Paige! Oh, God, what are we gonna do?"

"Why do we have to anything?" Paige questioned. "Isn't this good? Now Piper can move on with her life with Dan. Dan's a nice, normal guy, right? I say, let romance work its own magic."

"But, Paige," Phoebe argued, "this isn't supposed to happen! It's not like Piper and Leo divorced. She just can't remember him."

"Leo left Piper anyway, remember?" Paige countered. "Even if she could remember him, they still wouldn't be together. Maybe there's a reason why she can't remember him. You know how Piper's always wanted a 'normal' life… or at least as normal as it is ever going to get. Maybe this is her chance to get some balance in her life… and find that nice, normal guy she's always wanted."

Before Phoebe could reply, the familiar twinkling of blue lights appeared in their kitchen. For a second, Phoebe thought it would be Leo, but then Chris's body appeared. He was holding a piece of blue cloth.

"We have a problem," was the first thing he said.

"Well, hello to you, too," Paige greeted, sarcastically.

Chris ignored the quip and continued. "A woman reported today that she was almost attacked by, what she described as, 'a tall, ugly mutant'."

"A mutant?" Paige inquired, incredulously.

"We should've expected it sooner or later," Phoebe said. "I mean, we've faced trolls, fairytale characters, and the Woogeyman, so why not the X-Men?"

"Just as long as it's not Wolverine," Paige joked. "He's too hot for me to have to vanquish." Phoebe and Paige both laughed.

Chris looked back and forth between Paige and Phoebe, angrily. "Do you guys think this is a joke?"

Phoebe looked up at him. "Come on, Chris. Lighten up. It's a probably just another demon. No biggie."

"This may not be _just_ another demon," he countered. "And even if it is, you should still take it seriously."

"Okay, _Dad,_" Paige replied.

"We're sorry, Chris," Phoebe apologized, trying to smooth things over. "We'll be serious." Paige did not look very sorry, but she didn't say anything. "How did the woman get away?" Phoebe asked.

"I don't know. I went to the crime scene and I managed to get this." He held out the blue cloth. "I wanted to see if you could get a premonition off of it," he said to Phoebe.

"I don't know." Phoebe took the cloth. "I'll try." She closed her eyes and concentrated hard on the blue cloth. Moments passed, but no premonition came.

"Well?" Chris asked, impatiently.

Phoebe opened her eyes in frustration. "I can't always get a premonition when I want to, Chris."

"Why not?"

"Because…" Phoebe didn't really know why. "Because I just can't."

"Well, try harder."

Phoebe sighed and closed her eyes again. This time, Phoebe felt the customary cold sensation come over her as she had a vision:

_The place seemed oddly familiar to Phoebe, although she couldn't put a name to it. A woman kneeled, cowering, on the hard ground as a figure draped in a black cloak towered over her. The figure was getting ready to attack when, suddenly, it retreated. The figure continued to shrink back until it, then, turned and ran away. As the woman looked up, she opened her clenched fists and dropped a bright, shiny object onto the ground._

Phoebe snapped back to reality. She was breathless as she realized she knew what that shiny object was. It had belonged to Kevin, the mysterious man who they had met a few weeks ago. He was also the man who had almost brought Prue back… until he had been inexplicably vanquished. After his vanquish, the tiny object had disappeared.

Phoebe looked up at Chris and Paige, who stood watching her, expectantly.

"The place where the woman was found," Phoebe started, "where was that?"

"The alley behind _Parker's Central_," Chris answered.

Phoebe nodded; she knew that she had recognized that place. "The premonition I had took place in the past. I think I was seeing the woman who got attacked."

"So you saw what happened?" Paige asked.

Phoebe nodded her head again. She gazed up at Chris. "Did you find anything else at the crime spot?" Phoebe didn't think that the tiny item could have just disappeared.

However, Chris shook his head. "No. Why?"

Phoebe was about to answer, but she hesitated. For some reason, she didn't think she should tell Chris about the object. At least, not yet. "Just wondering," she finally answered. "We just need more to go by, that's all."

"So what do we do now?" Paige questioned.

Phoebe stood up. "We go demon-hunting. We should start at _Parker's Central_. See if we can find anything more. Piper!" Phoebe called as she, Paige, and Chris headed towards the front door.

Piper came down the stairs, dressed in a sweater and slacks. "What is it?"

"We have a demon to find," Paige told her.

"Now? But what about our dinner with Dan?"

"We should be back in plenty of time," Phoebe answered. "Let's go."

As the sisters put on their coats, Chris said, "I'll check with the Elders and see if they know anything."

Piper froze in the process of putting on her coat as she felt the, now well-known, wave of déjà vu washing over her. She had been feeling that she was forgetting something for a while now. It frustrated her that she couldn't remember what she was forgetting.

"Okay," Phoebe said, interrupting Piper's thoughts. "Check back with us later. Come on, you guys," Phoebe said to her sisters.

Piper finished putting on her coat and followed Paige and Phoebe out into the cold night, closing the door behind her.

Chris stood alone in the manor, staring at the closed door. Then, he put his hands into his jean pocket and pulled out the small, shiny article Phoebe had seen in her premonition. He looked at it, deep in thought. Finally, he put it back into his pocket and orbed out.

**END OF ACT I**


	3. Act II

**ACT II**

"Don't you guys feel a bit guilty about just letting that demon go?" Paige asked. She, Piper, and Phoebe had just walked into the crammed P3 for their dinner date with Dan.

"We did not just 'let the demon go', Paige," Piper countered, adjusting the strap of her cherry top. "We went to _Parker's Central_, and we searched all over, but we didn't see the demon or any other clues. What else would you have us do?"

"I don't know. It just seems that we gave up too easy."

"Well, we're already late, so after dinner, we can go check it out again if you want to," Phoebe responded. "Maybe by then Chris will have something else to help us."

Paige sighed. "All right," she conceded.

Piper looked all around the crowded club. "I don't see him," she said."

"Well, no wonder," Phoebe remarked. "Your place is _packed_, Piper." That was no understatement. Dozens of bodies grooved to the music of The Bungees. Others milled around or sat at the bar.

Piper looked at her watch, anxiously. "Maybe I should call home and see how Darryl and Wyatt are doing as long as we are waiting. We kind of stuck this whole baby-sitting job on him quickly."

"I'm sure they're fine, Piper," Phoebe reassured her.

"I know. I just want to check and make sure they're doing okay."

"Well, what happens if Dan-?"

"There he is!" Paige interrupted, pointing to the far left of them.

Piper looked around, anxiously. "Where?"

"Oh, I see him. Dan!" Phoebe called.

Dan looked up and around to see who had called his name. Finally, he spotted the sisters. Phoebe waved vigorously so he could see them easier. Dan got up and started making his way through the crowd to where the sisters stood. By the looks of things, it was going to take him a while.

"How do I look?" Piper asked, frantically, smoothing her top and skirt. "Is my hair okay? Is there anything on my face? Is there anything in my teeth?" Piper turned to Phoebe and smiled so Phoebe could look at her teeth.

"Great, yes, no, and no," Phoebe replied, answering each one of Piper's questions. "Don't worry. You look wonderful."

"Okay, good." Piper turned back to greet Dan.

Paige nudged Phoebe. "So what are we going to do if Dan, inevitably, mentions you-know-who?" Paige said into Phoebe's ear so Piper couldn't overhear them

"I don't know," Phoebe answered. "We can't keep on avoiding it. They'll eventually figure out that something's up." Suddenly, a light bulb lighted up in Phoebe's head. "Wait, I think I have an idea." Phoebe quickly turned to Piper. "Uh, Piper, what's that on you face?"

"What do you mean?"

Phoebe peered closely at Piper's face. "It kinda looks like… I don't know, toothpaste? Whatever it is, it's really nasty, isn't it, Paige?" Phoebe gave her a look, hoping that she would catch on.

"What? I don't see anything."

"It's right there. Maybe you should take Piper to the _bathroom_ while I wait here with _Dan_, okay?"

"Oh!" Paige said, finally catching on. "Oh, now I see it. Eww, let's go get that cleaned up, Piper."

"I thought you said I didn't have anything on my face!" Piper responded.

"Well, the light changed and now I can see it. You better hurry and wash it off before Dan gets here."

"Fine. Tell Dan we'll be right back." Piper followed Paige to the bathroom.

Just after Piper and Paige left, Dan got to where Phoebe was left standing. "Hey, Phoebe," he greeted. "Where did Piper and, uh…?"

"Paige," Phoebe finished.

"Paige, right." Dan shook his head. "Where did they go?"

Phoebe smiled. "They went to the bathroom. You know us women and the bathroom!"

Dan chuckled. "Right." Dan started to look around the club for a few seconds before asking (a bit too off-handedly), "So, uh, will Leo be joining us later?"

"Uh, no, he's not. And while we're on the subject…" Phoebe looked around to make sure that Piper was nowhere in sight. "Leo probably won't be around anymore. At all."

"Oh, really?" Dan said, still trying to appear casual.

"He and Piper had a bit of a messy and painful divorce. He-"

"Let me guess: it was all those secrets he had, right?" Dan guessed.

"Uh, yeah. Yeah, that's it." Phoebe felt a little guilty about sullying up Leo's name by letting Dan think that, but that provided a good reason for the divorce.

Dan shook his head, disapprovingly. "That's what I thought. I mean, I tried to hope for the best, I truly did. But Leo just wasn't who he said he was. No marriage can survive for very long on secrets and lies."

"Uh, yeah," Phoebe said again. "Anyway, the divorce was really painful for Piper. She just breaks down every time someone mentions Leo."

Dan nodded. "That's understandable."

"So, if you could just not mention the divorce or Leo tonight, that'd be really great. I just don't want Piper to be upset and our evening ruined. Is that okay?"

"Totally. I don't want to ruin our evening, either. But it must've been horrible for her. I know what it's like to lose someone you love."

Before Phoebe could respond, Piper and Paige rejoined them.

"Phoebe, there was nothing on my face," Piper told her.

"Oh, must've been the light. Anyway," Phoebe continued before Piper could answer, "let's find our table now, shall we?"

"Do you guys want any drinks?" Dan asked them.

"Just some water," Piper answered.

"Same here," Phoebe said.

"I'll have some iced tea," Paige told Dan.

"Okay, I'll get them. You guys just find a table."

"Will you be able to find us?" Piper questioned.

"As long as you don't become invisible or anything." Dan smiled at her.

Piper returned his smile. "Okay. Thanks."

The sisters and Dan split up as the girls headed to find a table. Finally, they found an empty one near the stage where the band played.

As they sat down, Piper kept adjusting and fidgeting with her dress, although there was nothing wrong with it. Phoebe noticed this and asked, "Piper, what are you doing? There's nothing wrong with your dress."

Piper continued to adjust her dress, and, without looking up, replied, "Well, Phoebe, after tonight, I don't think I really should trust your judgment about my appearance."

Phoebe was about to respond when Piper interrupted. "Plus, I just want to look nice for Dan, you know? I mean, we haven't seen him in- what? Two years?" She turned around and looked at the crowded bar where Dan stood waiting for their drinks. She turned back and leaned in closer to Phoebe and Paige. "He has gotten cuter, hasn't he? I love what he's done with his hair, don't you?"

"Uh, I guess so," Phoebe answered, uncertainly. She hadn't really thought about it too much.

"It's kind of weird, though," Piper continued. "Do you know that I can't even remember why I broke up with him in the first place?" She swiveled around before either Paige or Phoebe could answer to look at Dan again as he finished getting their drinks. This time, it was Piper who waved her hand to show Dan where they were. Dan saw and headed over toward their table.

"Uh, Piper?" Phoebe questioned.

"Yeah?" Piper answered as she turned back once again.

But Phoebe wasn't even sure about what she wanted to say. As she searched for the right words, Dan joined their table.

"Okay, so water for you-" he handed the water to Piper, "-and you." He handed the other one to Phoebe.

"Thanks," Phoebe replied.

"And here's your iced tea, Paige."

"Didn't you get yourself a drink?" Paige asked as she took her iced tea.

"Nah. I had one before you all arrived," Dan replied as he took the seat between Piper and Paige.

"Oh, yeah," Piper replied, sheepishly. "Sorry about that. We-"

But Dan shook his head. "No, no. It's okay. At first, I thought you guys probably couldn't find me in this dense. Your club is doing pretty great, Piper. It's hard to believe that just a few years ago this club was an empty building, which no one even knew about."

Piper nodded. "I know. It's unbelievable. I guess hard work really does pay off, after all."

"I know things can't have been really easy for you with Prue's death and the divor- I mean, the _discovery_ of your half-sister."

Phoebe breathed easily. At least, Dan had remembered not to mention Leo. That was one thing off her mind.

"So, uh, how did you find out about each other?"

"I'd like to call it a _magical_ intervention," Paige responded.

"It was pretty much luck," Piper said quickly, as she glared at Paige. "Paige came to Prue's funeral, and, um, her father was also there, and-"

"It's really complicated," Phoebe put in.

"Well, it's nice to see some things never change, huh?" Dan replied to that comment, looking right at Piper.

Paige looked from Dan to Piper while Phoebe cleared her throat uneasily. Piper stared down at the table, feeling a bit guilty. When Piper and Dan were together, their whole relationship had been filled with lies and complications. Piper's constant disappearance and avoidance of Dan's questions always bothered him very much. Although Piper hated lying to him, she knew for a fact Dan would never be able to take it if he found out that she was a witch.

"So, uh, Phoebe," Dan started after a few moments of uncomfortable silence, "I heard about your advice column, 'Ask Phoebe'. It seems that it's been doing pretty good so far."

However, Phoebe wasn't listening. Behind Dan, Phoebe spotted sparkling, blue lights appearing in the corridor that led to the restrooms. A moment later, Chris's head poked out of the hall. He scanned the club until he caught sight of Phoebe. He beckoned a little to her then disappeared back into the entry.

"Phoebe?" Dan questioned.

Phoebe turned back to the others and noticed that they were all staring at her with an inquiring look on their faces. Neither of her sisters seemed to have seen Chris orb into the club.

"Phoebe? Are you alright?" Paige asked.

"Um, sure!" Phoebe tried to cover up. "I'll be right back. I have to go to the bathroom." She stood up, quickly.

"Now?" Piper asked.

"Well, you never know when nature is going to call," Phoebe replied. "Excuse me."

Phoebe quickly hurried to the restrooms. When she got there, she saw Chris leaning against the wall. He straightened when he saw her.

"The Elders think that it was, obviously, a demon that attacked the woman. They believe that the demon was after something the woman might have had."

"Might have had?" Phoebe repeated, questioningly. She thought of the shiny object that the woman had had in Phoebe's premonition. _Could that have been what the demon was looking for?_ Phoebe asked herself. But, if that was true, why had the demon just turned and run away?

"The Elders want you guys to go to the woman's address and see if you can find anything there."

Phoebe nodded, distractedly. "Okay. I'll go get Paige and Piper." Phoebe headed back towards the floor, but just at the end of the corridor, she hesitated. Phoebe turned back to Chris.

"Chris?" she asked.

"Hmm?" he replied.

"When you were up there with the Elders… um, you didn't happen to see Leo, did you?"

Chris's face was a blank. "No, I didn't, but, as you know, 'up there' is a pretty big place."

Phoebe stared at Chris's nonchalant face for a moment. Although what he said made sense, she still got the feeling that he wasn't telling her everything. However, she just nodded and continued her way back to the table.

When she reached the table, Phoebe saw Piper and Dan laughing over something while Paige just sat in her seat, looking extremely bored. Just then, Paige looked up and spotted Phoebe.

"Phoebe!" Paige exclaimed. "You're back! Sit down… please," she added, almost begging.

"We've got to go." Phoebe turned to Dan. "Sorry, but it's a family emergency."

Dan nodded, although he didn't seem too happy. "Right. Of course. That's okay."

Piper also looked disappointed. "Do we really have to? I mean, can't you and Paige can handle it without me? I don't want to just leave Dan here by himself."

"But Piper-" Phoebe started.

"Sure!" Paige interrupted. "We can do it! Let's go. Bye!" Paige quickly started putting on her coat.

Phoebe was still unsure about leaving Piper here with Dan alone. What happens if Dan slipped and mentioned something about Leo?

But Paige was practically pulling Phoebe toward the exit so she couldn't say anything against Piper staying.

Once Paige and Phoebe had left, Dan turned to Piper and said, "Hey, do you wanna get out of here? Maybe we could go get some coffee or something. Anywhere that is a little more quiet and a little less crowded.

"That'd be great," Piper replied.

As she and Dan stood up at the same time, her shoulder brushed intimately against his. Piper and Dan glanced at each other for just a moment before quickly stepping adverting their eyes and putting on their coats. Nevertheless, in that one moment, Piper had felt a whole rush of feelings that hadn't been felt in a while.

_I haven't even been with anyone since Dan and I broke up_, she thought to herself. _Wait a minute… have I?_ Piper wasn't even sure herself. She couldn't remember the last time she had had these feelings for someone. All she knew was that, lately, she had felt as if there was something, or _someone_, missing from her life. At first, she didn't know who or what it was. But maybe that was because what was missing from her life all along wasn't there.

Until now.

**END OF ACT II**


	4. Act III

**ACT III**

"So you think that the demon was after Kevin's little thingamajig?" Paige asked.

Phoebe and Paige were driving along in Piper's car, heading towards the address Chris had given Phoebe. Phoebe was driving while Paige looked at the map to direct them to the address.

Phoebe shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe. Nevertheless, that still doesn't explain why the demon ran away from the woman. If he, or rather, it was after whatever that thing was, why didn't he just kill the woman and take it? The demon obviously knew the woman had it."

"Maybe the demon heard someone coming and decided to make a break for it. Turn right up here."

Phoebe turned right at the stoplight, and then replied, "That makes sense. But that also makes me wonder how the woman got it in the first place. I mean, we had it last. After Kevin, uh, disappeared, so did his object."

Paige didn't reply; she hated thinking about that day that Kevin had mysteriously been vanquished… that was the day that Kevin had promised to bring Prue back. He almost succeeded. Almost.

"Well," Phoebe started, after a few moments of silence, "let's hope that we find more clues at this address. Are we almost there yet?"

Paige nodded and added, "We better be. I really have to pee."

Phoebe smiled at her sister's comment as they drove along the long stretch of road in silence. Suddenly, Paige asked, "Why didn't you tell Chris what you saw in your premonition?"

Phoebe stared out at the road in front of her. She wasn't sure how to respond to Paige. Phoebe couldn't really explain it; it was just something inside of her was telling her not to trust Chris. She always felt a bit uneasy when he was around, plus, Phoebe found it strange that Chris had never heard a single word from Leo ever since he became an Elder and Chris the sisters' new whitelighter.

"Phoebe?" Paige asked again.

"I'm just not sure if I trust him," Phoebe responded, keeping her eyes on the road. "He just doesn't seem to be… forthcoming with information, most of the time, other than what demon-of-the-day we need to track down."

"Well, he is our whitelighter. Moreover, he's _just_ our whitelighter. Maybe this is just how most whitelighters are. Leo was a special case, considering the fact that he was married to our sister."

"And why exactly hasn't Chris heard anything about Leo?" Phoebe countered. "Unlike Leo, Chris isn't here all the time so I'm assuming he spends most of his time up there. So, wouldn't he have heard, at least, some little tidbit about Leo up there? Like how is he, what is his life like now as an Elder, does he think about Piper after abandoning her and their baby… these are stuff that I would think Chris should know."

"Maybe he didn't want to upset Piper about news of her ex-husband. He doesn't know that she can't remember him."

"I know, but--"

"Hold up," Paige interrupted, suddenly. She pointed to an apartment complex in front of them. "There's the woman's apartment up above. Turn to the right."

Phoebe rotated the steering wheel to the right. The girls' car drove beyond a gate that opened as they passed through. The apartment complex was very orderly and nice.

"What's the apartment number?" Phoebe asked.

"'749'," Paige replied.

Phoebe careened through the complex until she found where the woman's apartment would be. The girls' parked, and got out of the car. As they headed to the apartment number, Paige asked, "So what are we going to say to her?"

"Uh, I'm not sure. I guess just see if she knows anything more about the demon who attacked her. And what happened to the object she had."

Paige nodded. Finally, Phoebe and Paige reached the woman's door. Paige knocked. Moments went by but no one came.

Paige knocked again. "Hello? Is anybody there?"

"They might not be home," Phoebe said, worriedly.

Paige was just about to knock again when the door abruptly opened. Standing in the door was a man, approximately in his thirties.

"What do you want?" he asked, gruffly.

"Uh," Paige said, unsure of how to proceed, "is there a woman living here, by chance?" Phoebe could barely suppress a groan at Paige's opening question.

The man stared at them for a moment, then said, "I don't have time for this." He began to close the door.

"Wait!" Phoebe said, quickly. "Please. We just want to talk."

The man just stared at them. Suddenly, a woman's voice came from inside.

"Let them in," the voice ordered.

The man looked as if he wanted to do the exact opposite of the request, but he opened the door and let them walk in, anyway.

After their eyes adjusted to the dimly lit room hall, Phoebe saw that the voice came from the woman Phoebe had seen in her premonition. The woman seemed to also be in her thirties. She was very pretty, but her eyes appeared to be permanently etched with sadness.

"I understand that you want to see me?" the woman questioned.

"Uh, yeah," Paige replied. "We need to talk to you about something. Um, maybe we should all sit dow-"

"You're the Charmed Ones," the woman interjected, unexpectedly.

Paige and Phoebe looked at each other, a bit freaked.

"Uh, how did you know who we were?" Paige asked.

The woman laughed, although the smile didn't quite reach her eyes. "I knew that you were coming. Please come in and sit so we can talk." She walked into her living room.

After one final look at each other, Paige and Phoebe quickly followed the woman.

As they walked into the small parlor, the woman motioned to the sofa. "Sit, sit."

The girls sat on the comfortable couch as instructed. The man who had opened the door walked into the parlor.

"Evelyn, what is all this about?" he asked, angrily.

"You'll have to excuse my husband," Evelyn told the sisters. "He isn't very open to new people." She turned to her husband. "Can you please give us a minute, Alex?"

Once again, Alex looked as if he really did not want to do what his wife had asked of him, but he turned and left the room, nevertheless.

"Well," Evelyn said, turning back to Piper and Paige, "I'm sure you're here to talk about what happened this morning."

"Uh, yes," Phoebe replied. "You reported that a, uh, 'big mutant' attacked you, right?

"I thought that mutant sounded better than demon."

"Right," Phoebe replied, slowly, thinking that demon sounded a lot better than mutant. "Anyway, we were wondering if you could tell us anything more about the, uh…"

"Demon," Evelyn finished.

"Right," Phoebe said once again. "The demon that attacked you. Like what he looked like or if you had any idea why he attacked you."

Evelyn sighed. "I never actually saw my attacker's face… I'm not sure if it even had one. The only thing I can tell you was that it was wearing a long, black cloak, but I'm sure you already knew that. I mean, one of you gets the premonitions, right?"

Phoebe leaned in closer to the woman, interested in what she had to say. "Yes, that's me. Phoebe. How do you know about our powers? Are you-"

"A witch? No, no. I have no powers myself. I'm just a normal mortal."

"Well, then, how do you know so much about us?" Paige inquired.

"When I was about seven, both my parents died in a car crash." Evelyn hesitated for a moment, sighed, and then continued. "I was an only child, and, after the accident, I moved here to California to live with my father's sister. It took me a surprisingly long time to figure out she was a witch, but when I did I was absolutely fascinated with it. I never did actually try becoming a witch, but I read every single book I could get my hands on about it and I would beg my aunt to tell me everything she knew about witches and warlocks and demons."

"Did she tell you about us?" Phoebe asked.

"Yes, she told me about the Charmed Ones, the three most powerful witches of our generation. She told me about you all being sisters, each with a different power—the power to freeze, the power of premonitions, and the power to move things with the mind… although I did hear about one of you dying. I'm very sorry about that."

"Uh, well, thank you," Phoebe responded, uncomfortably, not wanting to get into a whole conversation about Prue. "So how did you know we were coming today?" she asked, quickly changing the subject.

"My aunt told me that wherever a demon is, the Charmed Ones are not far behind it. I just figured that you would hear about my attack today and come."

"Um," Phoebe started, "by the way, in my premonition, I saw you holding some-"

"Excuse me," Paige interrupted. "Sorry, Phoebe, but I really have to go."

Phoebe was confused. "Go? Go where?"

"To the bathroom." Paige turned to Evelyn. "Is it okay if I use your bathroom?"

"Of course. It's down the hall and the second door on the right."

"Alright. Thanks." Paige quickly hurried out of the room.

Phoebe sighed and turned back to Evelyn. "Well, as I was saying, in my premonition I saw you holding this small object."

The look on Evelyn's face was one of confusion. "An object?"

"Yes, it was small and very shiny. It was kind of diamond shaped."

"Oh!" Realization dawned on her face. "Oh, yes, I had that. I think I must've dropped it after the attack. But," a look of puzzlement returned to Evelyn's face, "why do you ask about it?"

"Well," Phoebe said, "it was something that belonged to a, uh, friend of ours, but we lost it. I was just wondering where you got it from and if you still had it."

"Well, my aunt gave it to me a couple of days ago and told me to keep it safe. She wouldn't tell me why. It seemed very important to her, for some reason."

"Where did she get it from?"

"Well, she told me it's her husband's—she married him a few months ago, but... I don't know. It seemed like there's something more that she's not telling me about it."

Phoebe leaned back in her seat, deep in thought. _So how did Evelyn's aunt get it?_ Phoebe wondered. _I'd have to find her and ask myself. There's so much mystery around this little thing and we don't even know the name of it. I wonder if-_

"I hope I can find it before Chris and my aunt realize it is missing. They are going to kill me."

Phoebe's ears perked up at that comment. "Chris?" she questioned.

"Yeah, a new friend of my aunt's. He, too, seemed very interesting in that thing."

"Um, Evelyn, this Chris person, he wouldn't happen to be brunette and kind of skinny, would he?"

Evelyn nodded. "Yeah, that's what he looks like."

"Sort of bossy?" Phoebe continued.

"Very, actually. Serious, too. My aunt tells me that he is a... whitelighter? I think that's what she called him."

_How is Chris involved in all this? He, obviously, knows something about the object. Still, I can't suspect him of any wrongdoing. Not yet._

"Phoebe?" Evelyn asked.

Phoebe snapped out of her deep train of thought and looked at her. "Huh?"

"I asked if you knew Chris."

"Oh, uh, yeah. Not very good, though," Phoebe responded, not wanting Evelyn to know that Chris was their whitelighter, also. There was some stuff that Phoebe had to figure out first.

"I'm back!" Paige bounded back into the parlor. "Did I miss anything?"

"No," Phoebe answered, quickly. She stood up. "We should get back."

"Oh, but did you get everything you needed?" Evelyn asked, rising, too.

"Yes, I think we did. Let's go." Phoebe hurried to the door. Paige hesitated, then followed Phoebe out of the door.

* * *

"And remember that time that Jenny caught us making out in your bedroom?" Piper asked, laughing so hard she could barely get the words out.

"Oh, yeah," Dan replied, laughing hard, also. "Do you remember that all she said was 'Well, at least my uncle is finally getting some', then she turned and left the room."

Piper nodded. "I do," she laughed. "She didn't even seem to really care at all."

"She never even mentioned it again. It was as if nothing had happened."

Piper and Dan shared another good laugh together. They had walked to this little coffee place after they had left P3. Dan had then driven Piper home (since Phoebe and Paige had taken the car). Along the way, Dan and Piper had spent a lot of time recalling times of the past.

As Dan walked Piper up the steps to the manor, Piper thought about how many good times she and Dan used to have. Thinking about it now, Piper realized how much she had really missed Dan.

Piper and Dan reached the door to the manor. They turned to each other, both not wanting to really end the night.

"Well, I guess this is it, huh?" Dan commented.

"Yeah. Um, thanks for bringing me home. I hope Paige and Phoebe don't go back to P3 looking for us, but, on the other hand, that should be their punishment for taking the car and making you bring me home."

But Dan shook his head. "No, Piper, it was no problem, really. I enjoyed it. I enjoyed talking to you again."

Piper smiled at him. "Me, too."

They gazed at each other for a moment before Dan cleared his throat and said, "Well, I better be going."

Piper nodded. "Okay. I'll see you around?"

"You can count on it." He raised his hand as a goodbye, and turned to head back to his car. However, he hesitated for a moment, before turning back.

"You know, I have something to admit to you, and I figured that I might as well get this off my chest now."

Piper's heart began to beat just a little bit faster. "What is it?"

"You know how I said I was here on business?" Piper nodded. "Well, that's not entirely the truth. I mean, I do have things that I need to do here, but… when I heard that I had to come back to San Francisco, I was mostly excited at the thought of… seeing you again."

Piper's heart seemed to stop for just a moment as she stood, stunned at Dan's revelation. She didn't know what to say.

Dan misunderstood the impression on Piper's face, and started to regret his confession. He sighed. "Is it too late to take that back?"

Piper opened her mouth to reply, but Dan interrupted her. "That's okay. You don't have to say anything. Let me—let me just go. No hard feelings." He turned and started heading down the steps.

Piper hesitated then called out, "Dan, wait!".

He turned back towards her. "Yeah?" he asked.

She only hesitated for a split second more before running down the steps to him. They stared into each other's eyes for a moment before Dan slowly leaned in to kiss Piper. Piper put her arms around him as their kissing became more passionate.

Just then, Phoebe and Paige pulled up to the house. As Phoebe was about to get out of the car, Paige suddenly grabbed Phoebe's hand and pointed with her other hand to Piper and Dan kissing fervently on the steps.

"Is that who I think it is?"

**END OF ACT III**


	5. Act IV

**ACT IV**

Phoebe opened her car door. Paige looked over and, quickly, grabbed her arm.

"What do you think you're doing?" Paige asked Phoebe.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm going to stop them." Phoebe tried to get out of the car, but Paige pulled her back in.

"Are you crazy? You can't just walk up to them and tell them to stop kissing or else. All that will do is make Piper angry at us."

"So what? This is wrong." Phoebe made another motion to get out of the car, but Paige pulled her back in again.

"What do you mean 'this is wrong'?"

"What do you mean 'what do I mean'? Piper and Leo--"

"—are not together any longer. He left her, Phoebe. He left her to go fulfill some higher calling. So not only are Piper and Leo divorced—"

"They're not divorced yet," Phoebe replied, stubbornly, "because Piper can't remember him long enough to divorce him."

"Whatever. What I mean is… nothing is going to change, whether Piper can remember Leo or not. Don't you think she deserves a little happiness after all she's been through? Do you really want to ruin what she and Dan could have together?"

Phoebe glared at Paige. "Piper and Leo _belong _together, Paige. Plus, we all know that Dan would never be able to handle the fact that we are all witches."

"So what? She should just give up on love entirely unless it's a warlock or another whitelighter? Things change. He could've changed."

"Why do you care so much about Piper and Dan being together?"

Paige sighed. "Phoebe, just look at them."

Phoebe gazed at Piper and Dan, who had now stopped kissing long just to gaze into each other's eyes.

"I can't believe this is happening," Piper said, happily.

"I know. I thought you would have gotten over me by now."

Piper laughed. "I thought I was over you, too. I guess we were both wrong, huh?"

"This time, I don't mind being wrong." He grinned and leaned in for another kiss.

In the car, Paige turned back to Phoebe. "When's the last time you saw Piper look that happy? Well, other than when she was engaged to Mr. Warlock Dude, of course."

Phoebe stared at Piper and Dan, a sinking feeling in her chest. Of course she wanted to see Piper happy. But was her being with Dan the way to go about it?

When Phoebe didn't reply, Paige nodded, satisfied. "That's what I thought."

Phoebe still didn't say anything. Paige turned around and saw Dan heading down the steps towards his car which was parked behind the sisters' car. "Quick!" Paige said. "Duck!"

"What? Why? We live--" But Paige pulled her down before she could finish.

Dan passed by their car. He stopped for a moment, glanced toward the sisters' car, smiled, then walked off to his own car. As soon as his car had disappeared down the road, Paige slowly sat up and looked towards the house. "Piper must have gone inside," Paige commented since Piper was no longer standing on the steps. "Come on, let's go in now."

* * *

"Where have you guys been?"

Phoebe and Paige had just entered the manor into the front hall where Piper had, apparently, been waiting for them.

"Well, uh," Phoebe replied, "we did a little demon-investigating."

"A little demon-investigating, huh?" Piper repeated, tapping her foot on the floor. "And what exactly did you find out?"

"Uh..." Phoebe and Paige glanced at each other. For some reason, Piper seemed a bit upset with them. "Well, we didn't really find out anything more. Nothing that we didn't already know."

"Oh," Piper replied. "So then you guys came on home, then, right?"

"Uh, yeah," Paige answered, slowly.

"And you guys decided to sit in the car and watch me and Dan rather than come out and at least make up a plausible excuse for not staying the entire evening?"

Phoebe and Paige glanced towards each other again. Phoebe began, "Well, Piper--"

"Dan saw you guys, too. He knows our car, I don't think ducking down would have changed anything." But Piper couldn't resist a smile as she recalled her sisters' futile attempt to hide themselves.

Paige smiled, also, although Phoebe did not. "We didn't want to ruin yours and Dan's special time."

Piper reassured them. "Don't worry. You didn't,"

There was a few moments of silence before Phoebe said, "So... you and Dan, huh?"

"Yeah," Piper responded, as she turned and started heading towards the parlor, with her sisters following behind her. "One moment he was telling me that he still had feelings for me... and, the next moment, we were kissing on the steps."

"Well, we know he's not a demon or a warlock, right?" Paige asked, sitting down on one of the chairs.

Piper grinned and took another seat near, while Phoebe remained standing, hands in the pocket of her coat. "I'm pretty sure that he isn't."

"Um, Piper," Phoebe started, as the sisters sat down at the kitchen table, "I'm not trying to be negative or anything, but we've seen how Dan handled learning our secret. Do you really think he's changed?"

Piper's grin faded off her face. "Um, I really don't know. I'm hoping that he has. I mean, the last time he found out, it wasn't the best possible way. Right now, I'm just taking it one step at a time. I don't want to have to worry about that yet." Piper yawned. "Well, I think I'm going to go to bed now. I'll see you guys tomorrow." Piper got up and started heading up the stairs.

"Good night," Paige called behind her.

Phoebe sighed and took Piper's vacant seat. She leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes. "Oh," she groaned, "this day has been way too long."

Paige smiled at her weary sister. "I totally agree. Which is why I think I'm going to go to bed, too." Paige stood up. "Good--"

Just then, a loud crash sounded from upstairs. Phoebe and Paige looked quickly at each other.

"What was that?" Paige asked. Another crash suddenly sounded.

Phoebe didn't bother responding; she took off running up the stairs, with Paige following closely behind her.

"Piper!" Phoebe called as she and Paige ran up the stairs. "Piper!"

Piper was standing in front of her room in the upstairs hallway, staring at the stairs that led to the attic. "It came from the attic," she told her sisters.

The sisters all turned their attention to the attic where several other crashes and sounds could be heard.

"Do you think it's a demon?" Paige questioned.

Piper commented, "Well, if it's just looking for the book, it's making an awful lot of noise."

"Well, let's go see. Come on." Phoebe grabbed Piper's and Paige's hand and, together, the sisters walked up the stairs that led to the attic.

When they got to the door, the sisters released each others' hands. "Okay," Piper said, "hands at the ready."

Paige slowly lowered her hand onto the attic doorknob. She hesitated as they listened to the continuing crashes from inside, then, quickly, opened the door.

The attic was so dark that the it took the sisters awhile for their eyes to adjust and notice what had state the attic was in. 

There were papers all over the floor. Chairs and tables had been overturned. The Book of Shadows and the stand it rested on both lay on the floor, untouched. In the corner, a tall, cloaked demon knelt, sorting through a bundle of papers and other objects. It appeared to be looking for something. 

Phoebe gasped. "That's the demon from my premonition!" she told her sisters 

The demon jerked its cloaked head up, startled, to look at the sisters. He stood up quickly, then, froze. 

Piper raised up her hands to attempt to blow up the demon, but before she could, the demon issued a terrible, loud moan from the inside of its hood, which caused the sisters to all cover their ears. It was like nothing the girls had ever heard before. 

"What the hell was that?" Paige yelled, as the moaning continued. 

Piper released her ears to try to blow up the demon again, but Phoebe put her hand up to stop her. "Wait," Phoebe shouted. "Look at what he's doing." The demon was making a series of different moans and gesturing with his hands. "I think he's trying to communicate with us." Phoebe began to walk closer to the demon. 

"Phoebe!" Piper shouted. She grabbed Phoebe's arm. "What are you doing?" 

"Just wait." Phoebe continued to inch her way closer to where the demon stood. As she made her way closer, the demon stopped the moaning. 

"There we go," Phoebe said in relief. Phoebe turned back to her sisters, a _what do I do now?_ look on her face_. _Piper and Paige shrugged. 

Phoebe faced the demon again. "Uh," she started, a bit too loudly. "What are you looking for?" 

The demon began to moan again. Phoebe put up her hands quickly, which silenced the demon. 

"No, no, no. No need to talk," Phoebe said. 

"Uh, Pheebs?" Piper began. "I don't think he has any idea what the hell you're saying." 

Paige suggested, "Maybe we oughta call Chris." Piper and Phoebe both looked at Paige. "Well, whitelighters can speak all these languages to communicate with all their charges, right? Maybe Chris will know demon-speak." 

_Whitelighters can speak different languages. I knew that... but how did I know? _Piper was starting to get annoyed by the constant feeling of déjà vu. Now, more than ever, she had the strongest feeling that she was not remembering something. _I could speak French... because I switched bodies with--_

"Piper? What do you think?" Phoebe asked. 

Piper immediately snapped out of it and looked at her sisters. "Uh, yeah. Call him." 

Paige nodded and called, "Chris! We need you!" 

There was a moment of waiting before the recognizable blue lights appeared in front of Piper and Paige. "What is it?" Chris asked. 

"We need a little help decoding some demon-language," Piper answered. She pointed towards Phoebe and the demon. "Look behind you." 

Chris turned and jumped back a little as he saw the demon. "Um, what's this?" 

"This is the demon from my premonition," Phoebe informed Chris. "We think he's trying to tell us something, but we can't understand him." 

"And we were hoping you could," Paige added. 

"Why would you think I could?" Chris questioned. 

"Well, whitelighters can understand other languages, can't they? I mean, Le--" Paige glanced quickly at Piper, "uh, _other_, whitelighters could." 

"Well, I can't." 

"Why not?" Paige asked. 

"Well, can you?" Chris retorted. 

"No, but I'm only half-whitelighter. You're a full whitelighter... aren't you?" 

But before Chris could respond, out of nowhere, the demon came hurtling towards Chris, knocking Phoebe down as he went. 

"Oomph!" Phoebe said as she fell on the floor. 

Chris yelled as the demon tackled Chris, and both crashed onto the floor. The demon's long, skeletal fingers closed around Chris' neck, as if trying to strangle him. 

"Chris!" Paige yelled. 

"A little help here, please!" Chris managed to gasp out. 

Paige ran over to the struggling duo, but before she could attempt anything, she was instantly thrown back into the attic wall. 

"Paige!" Piper ran over to Paige's unconscious body, and knelt down to make sure Paige's pulse was alright. When she had affirmed that Paige was okay, Piper turned back to the demon and Chris. "Okay. That's it." Piper blew up the demon. 

Chris lay panting on the floor. Paige sat up, slowly, rubbing her head. "Uhhh," she moaned. "What the hell happened?" 

Phoebe placed her hands on her hips. "What did you do that for?" she asked Piper, angrily. "The demon had something important to tell us." 

"We don't know that," Piper responded. "It could have easily been calling its demon friends to come here and eat our flesh. Besides, it's pretty much a good idea to not trust tall demons in black cloaks; they're never up to any good." 

"Well, I think the demon just proved that by trying to kill me for, might I add, no apparent reason!" Chris added, standing up. "Piper was right. We couldn't trust it." 

"Not to interrupt the discussion," Paige stated, also standing up, "but could I get some healing over here, Chris, please?" 

"Not now, Paige. I have to report this to the Elders." And with that, he orbed out of the room. 

Piper sighed. "Figures. Come on, Paige. I'm sure ice and a band-aid will help." Paige followed Piper out the doorway. 

Phoebe was about to follow her sisters out the door when she a bright sparkle caught the corner of her eye. Phoebe went over to investigate. She gasped as she picked up the shiny item that she had last seen in her premonition. 

_How'd this get here?_ Then it dawned on her. _Either Chris or the demon must have dropped it._ And Phoebe had the sinking suspicion that she knew which one. 

_Okay, this is one point in the whole "Chris is evil" category... if the object _is _evil._ None of the sisters knew anything about it. After the ordeal with Kevin, Phoebe had scoured the Book of Shadows, looking for some tiny tidbit of information of both Kevin and his object, but nothing had turned up. 

_Still, why would Chris hide this from us? He had to have picked it up after Evelyn dropped it._ The whole thing didn't make any sense. 

Phoebe shook her head, in an attempt to clear her thoughts. _What I need to do now,_ she thought, as she put the artifact into her coat pocket_, is talk to Piper and Paige, and figure out what to do together._

"Phoebe," Chris's voice sounded from behind her. 

Phoebe jumped, startled, and turned around. She hadn't even heard Chris orb in from behind her. 

"Sorry to startle you," he apologized. "Um, I was just wondering... you didn't happen to see anything, uh, _suspicious_ lying around here, did you?" 

"Suspicious?" Phoebe repeated, slowly. "Well, like what?" 

"Just anything that, you know, didn't belong here." 

Phoebe stared blankly at Chris, as if she had absolutely no idea what Chris was talking about. She hoped that Chris would not suspect anything. 

"Well, the Elders seem to think that this demon might have been carrying something of a very powerful nature, something that could do a lot of damage in the wrong hands." 

For a moment, Phoebe wanted to believe him. He sounded like he was telling the truth. Plus, it had belonged to Kevin before who _was _a powerful warlock. _Maybe I should tell him..._

"Well, I can assure you that we haven't seen anything suspicious around here, but you can look around if you want," Phoebe responded."Maybe you'll see something." Phoebe headed towards the doorway, and, without waiting for a response, said, "I'm gonna go to bed. Goodnight." 

"Goodnight," Chris replied, quietly, after Phoebe had already left the room.

**END OF ACT IV**


	6. Tag

**TAG**  
  
"Wow, so exactly how much are they paying you?" Piper asked, as she walked into Dan's beautifully decorated and spacious hotel room. "Because this, I mean, wow."  
  
Dan laughed. "Well, my company paid for this. They pay me... uh, not so much. But it's a lot better pay than before, and, well, I'm doing all right."  
  
Piper turned to look Dan in the face. "I'm so happy that you're doing well."  
  
"Yeah, actually, that's kind of what I wanted to talk to you about."  
  
Piper noted the serious look on Dan's face. "Okay," she replied, slowly. She sat down on the sofa. "What is it?"  
  
Dan sat down beside her. "Well, I just think that we need to talk about where this relationship is going. I mean, I know we've only been together for a short time, but it really feels like I never left San Francisco in the first place."  
  
Piper smiled at him. "I feel like that, too."  
  
However, Dan didn't return her smile. "There's a problem, though." He stopped.  
  
Piper held her breath, waiting for Dan to continue. Finally, she asked, "Yes? What's the problem?"  
  
Dan hesitated a moment more before saying, "I'm leaving for Portland in two days."  
  
Piper's heart stopped. "What?" she asked. "But you just got here a couple of days ago!"  
  
"Actually, I've been here for a week. It took me that long to work up the nerve to talk to you," Dan said with a slight chuckle.  
  
Piper didn't respond as she stared at the floor; she felt like she had just been punched in the stomach. The strange thing was that something else was bothering her... something nagging in the back of her head...  
  
"Piper?"  
  
Piper looked at Dan and cleared her throat. "So, uh, what exactly does this mean?"  
  
"Well, it means that we need to make a decision about us. Quickly. I need to know how serious this is... and whether we want to try and make this relationship work again. I know it's a lot to ask, considering the fact that I've been gone for over three years, but I need to know now."  
  
"You're asking me to decide if you should stay or not?"  
  
"Um," Dan stared at the floor, "that's not really what I meant."  
  
"What then?"  
  
"Well, I was thinking that you could move with me... back to Portland." Dan said slowly, hoping that Piper wouldn't blow up at him.  
  
Piper stared at Dan, startled by his proposal. _Move to Portland?  
_  
"I know it's crazy, and I know that it's really unfair of me to ask of you. I mean, you have P3 and your sisters here and... well, I understand if you need a little while to think about it."  
  
"No, it's just..." Piper sighed and shook her head. "It's just so soon."  
  
"I know, I know. It is too soon." Dan took Piper's hands in his own. "And I wish we could have more time just being together before we had to talk about this. I didn't want to just spring it on you."  
  
Piper nodded, slowly. "I understand."  
  
There was a couple moments' silence before Dan said, "Well, I know you'll need a little time to think about this. Phoebe told me that you're still getting over yours and Leo's divorce, so there's no rush... well, actually, there is a bit of a--"  
  
"What?" Piper interrupted. "Mine and Leo's divorce?"  
  
"Yeah. I know you're still getting over that so..."  
  
_Uh, Leo? Would you like to go out sometime? With me that is... I'd love to. Give me a call...  
_  
"...I want you to take the time..."  
  
_Leo, I love you. Can you hear me? I love you, Leo, please hear me...  
_  
"... make sure this is something you really want to do..."  
  
_What are we gonna do?... What we always do..._   
  
"... and no matter what you decide, I'll respect your decision..."  
  
_I guess we know now why witches and whitelighters aren't supposed to fall in love...  
  
Will you marry me...  
  
Leo, I'm sorry, but ... this is just the final straw. It's just not meant to be...  
  
Here before witnesses, Leo and Piper have sworn their vows towards each other. With this cord, I bind them to those vows...  
  
I don't wanna be complacent about my marriage. Neither he nor they are gonna find any fault in me..._  
  
_We're in for a rough road...  
  
I appreciate that you're very concerned, but I am still a witch, and we do still have innocents to protect and demons to fight...  
  
Look what we did... I see...  
  
As for my career, it's not as important to me as we are...  
  
Leo is not -- he's not an Elder, OK? Because Elders don't live on earth. They don't have families... Piper, if I had a choice in any of this, I would choose you. I always have... Will I ever see you again?... I don't know... You're gonna miss so much... I have the power to take your pain away... You can't make me forget you..._  
  
Piper gasped for breath as all the memories flooded her brain. "Leo," she whispered.  
  
Dan was confused. "Oh, I'm sorry. I know I wasn't supposed to mention him, but..." He trailed off as he noticed the look on Piper's face.  
  
"Oh, my God..."  
  
"Piper? Are you okay?"  
  
Piper stared at Dan as if just seeing him for the first time. Then, she got up and ran quickly out the room door.  
  
"Piper? Piper!"

* * *

"We need to tell Piper about this," Paige said. "If Chris has gone over to the dark side, then we should all figure out what to do together."   
  
Phoebe and Paige sat across from each other, once again, at their kitchen table that Saturday morning, sharing a cup of coffee and discussing the dilemma with Chris.  
  
"Yeah, I know. I looked in her room when I woke up, but she wasn't there," Phoebe responded.  
  
"She went over to Dan's hotel room. He called early this morning and the first thirty minutes of their conversation was about the cereal they were eating. I wanted to gag."  
  
"Hmm." Phoebe looked thoughtfully at her cup of coffee.  
  
Paige eyed her. "What? You're not still upset over Piper and Dan, are you? Phoebe--"  
  
"Wait, Paige. I know what you're about to say: Piper and Leo are through, Piper's happy with Dan, and we should all be happy for her. And you're right. We should be happy for her."  
  
"Then, what's the problem?"  
  
"The problem is that I can't be happy for her." Phoebe turned to look Paige square in the eye. "Paige... I love Piper and I think Dan is a wonderful guy. All want is for them to be happy. If Fate intended for her to be with Dan... then I guess I'll have to accept that. But... for five years, Leo has been there, helping us, guiding us. We didn't listen to him half the time, and we always took him for granted, but he was still there."  
  
"I miss him, too, Phoebe," Paige said, softly. "But we can't--"  
  
"That's not just it, though." Phoebe sighed. "All my life all I've dreamed about is having the type of love that Piper and Leo shared. I wanted to have someone look at me the way Leo looked at her. I wanted someone who loved me like Leo and Piper love each other." Phoebe sighed and turned to stare blankly in front of her. "What I went through with Cole... was awful. But the only thing that kept me going, that made me hope for love, was them. All that they've been through together... all the joy, all the pain, I can't believe that that was all for nothing. Because if it was... then, I don't think I can believe in love anymore." Phoebe turned back to Paige with a determined look in her eye. "I have to fix this."  
  
There was silence for a few moments. Finally, Paige said, "Okay."  
  
Phoebe looked at her in surprise. "What?"  
  
"Okay," Paige repeated. "We'll find a way to get Leo and Piper back together. The first thing we need to do is try another potion. I know my last one didn't work, but--"  
  
"Wait, a minute. I thought you were all for Piper and Dan!"  
  
"And I still am. Piper wanted a normal guy, and Dan fits the bill. They seem perfect for each other to me. But you, obviously, feel very strongly about this. Besides, it would be wrong for us not to at least try to get Piper's memory back of Leo. If she still chooses to be with Dan, then, we both stay out of it. Agreed?"  
  
Phoebe hesitated before nodding. "Agreed."  
  
"Okay, then. Now what we need to do is..." Paige stopped, and her gaze moved to something behind Phoebe.  
  
Phoebe quickly turned around in her chair. Piper was standing there, tears running down her face.  
  
"Piper?" Paige asked, worriedly. "What's wrong?"  
  
Piper just shook her head, more tears falling down her face.  
  
Phoebe stood up. "Honey, what is it?"  
  
"Leo," she finally croaked out. "He's gone." Piper started sobbing.  
  
"Oh, honey." Paige got up and walked past Phoebe. She hugged Piper. "Shh," she comforted her. "Shh, it's okay. Everything's gonna be okay."  
  
Piper sobbed bitterly into Paige's shoulder while Phoebe stared at the both of them, totally bewildered.  
  
**END OF TAG**


	7. Preview

**"Blind Jouney" Preview**

The Power of Three is split as each of the sisters carry out their own affairs: Piper gets bent on finding out where Leo is; Phoebe becomes more suspicious about Chris and attempts to discover what he is hiding; Paige battles not only a new demon, but her feeling of estrangement from her sisters. With all this going on, none of the sisters can see the real danger that is hunting them...


End file.
